Utah sisters weathering Hurricane Sandy in Connecticut

SALT LAKE CITY — Cheyenne and Sheridan Lyons of St. George love working as nannies in New York and Connecticut, but when they left Utah a year ago they didn't expect to find themselves hiding from a hurricane.

The two sisters say they have enjoyed the adventure of living on the East Coast, becoming part of the families they work for and taking in as many Yankees games as possible.

Now they are hunkered down in the basement with Sheridan Lyons' temporary family, sending off occasional text messages and emails to reassure their mom they're safe as Hurricane Sandy storms toward the coast.

Sheridan Lyons, 24, said the power in her New Canaan, Conn., home went out just before 2:30 p.m. Eastern time Monday, and residents were informed it could stay out for two weeks. Cell service is spotty, but the group has Internet thanks to a generator.

The girls are about 45 minutes outside of New York City, right on the edge of Sandy's anticipated trajectory. 

Cheyenne Lyons had come to visit her sister for the weekend, and as the storm moved in, conditions became too dangerous for her to return to the family she lives with about 30 minutes away in Westchester, N.Y.

The sisters went down to the basement when ferocious winds hit the coast Monday morning. The family they are staying with have several propane tanks on hand, but Sheridan Lyons worries it isn't enough.

She said she and her sister did what they could to be ready for Hurricane Sandy.

"We went to the store a few days ago and got stocked up on supplies as much as we could," she said. "I don't know if some people out here have been taking it as serious as they should."

Cheyenne Lyons, 27, said a search of grocery stores Monday turned up empty shelves.

"Water and milk was all gone, and a lot of gas stations have run out of gas," she said. "Water was actually gone from most stores Friday night."

The sisters are about 10 miles from the coast, and have been told they aren't at risk of flooding.

Cheyenne said she hoped the worst will be over by late Monday night.

"From past experience with storms out here, I am just imagining a huge mess of trees and lots of roads being blocked, I'm not sure how long until things will go back to normal," she said. "There could be a lot of damage." 

E-mail: mromero@deseretnews.com

Twitter: @McKenzieRomero